This is a Trip Report from the Economy cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
We were in Miami airport for a number of hours before check in opened as we had been on a cruise and then took an Everglades Tour before being dropped off at MIA with the luggage to kill a bit more time. There seems more to do in Miami airport before the gate/security than after (despite them making improvements to the airport year in, year out), but we managed to while away the hours till we stood in line again to get checked in. Trying to get checked in even on my brand new 3.5g Nokia was a challenge either in the USA or in the UK. I had to give up and resorted to texting my friend the details and a successful on line check in!
Ok, the check in desks opened just after 3pm and we were not too long to get checked in at all with fast, efficient service, as it was the afternoon, my brain was working too,
I did ask about the couples seats at the back but I was told the flight was full, ok never mind! So we waited till we were called on board and we were being treated to a few thunderstorms while we waited, not the most reassuring weather to be taking off in at all. Our rows were the last to get called in and as we walked onto the plane we noticed it was rather warm... hmmm.
Now Miami in August/Sept is like an oven anyway but you don't expect your aircraft to resemble one! It was not looking good. It just got hotter and hotter, it was clear the air con was not working at all. I was starting to think we were on a flight to nowhere and had visions of us being offloaded and spending the night in a hotel somewhere!
The captain was trying to fire up the engines and then there was a flash of lightning and a crack of thunder and all the lights went out. Yep I thought, that was it, we were going to be told we were getting off. The captain then came on the tannoy to say that one of the engines was having a bad day.... er any nervous flyers on board?!
But he needed a part and the engineers had one and it would be 5 mins, and actually that's exactly what happened give or take a few mins, the engines did start up but to be honest the flight was warm all the way back to Heathrow and I was glad I kept my shorts on as never once did I feel cold!
However, the fiasco still continued. I am a big fan of aerial shots as are quite a few v-flyers from the photos on board this forum and I have never been told off for camera use but I was this time and we hadn't even left the stand!!!!!
There is more, whatever had frazzled some electronics had also done something to the v port system as it didn't work for about 2 hours and in fact we were told that every single v port system had to be rebooted individually, they did eventually work hence the average score, that was bumped up by the film I watched!
The food I have to say was poor, very poor, probably the worst food I have had on board a flight. A starter of Chinese salad where the dressing didn't go with the greens at all. We both choose the beef stew and it was runny and watery, no taste at all. The dessert was even worse, it was some kind of banana thing with some freeze dried banana which wasn't frozen or mushy but some kind of in between state....
Now I know this board will only show that I have reviewed 2 flights but I have flown VA quite a few times to Vegas, from LAX, to New York and to/from Miami twice and this was the worst flight I had ever encountered in terms of food and service.
I don't know if the cabin crew had been rattled by all the stuff previously but they seemed quite off and surly even. There wasn't much of a drinks service going on and when they served the snack later on, they didn't go round promptly with the drinks so the elderly lady next to us missed out on a drink as she had been to the toilet, she only wanted a juice and where we were sitting was right next to the serving area but the cabin crew member told her he'd be 20 mins! Not good....
It didn't leave us with a great impression of VA coming back from Miami and then whatever problems we had also meant we couldn't leave by the back and front doors so everyone had to leave by the front so at least I got a glimpse at first class!
The problems then meant (I assume these were electronic in nature) that the baggage didn't come off or out as it should so that was late coming off the conveyors too, we weren't in a rush though.
I hope that the service will be back to normal for our next VS flight!
